TOMS RIVER - Ocean County's planning department will take the lead role
in a long-sought land-use study aimed at keeping the county's military
bases viable for decades.

With the establishment of what the U.S. Department of Defense calls
Joint Base New Jersey, the agency is now willing to finance 90 percent
of the cost for a comprehensive survey of land-use plans, from state
Pinelands Commission policies down to municipal zoning ordinances,
county Freeholder Director John P. Kelly said Wednesday.

"This will help us down the line," Freeholder Gerry P. Little said. "We
want these bases to be able to fulfill their military mission."